Floor construction for buildings.



2 SHBETHHEET 1.

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F. B. GIL'BRETH.

FLOOR CONSTRUCTION FOR BUILDINGS.

y APPLICATION P ILBD PEB. 25, 1903. 1,047,930. Patented Dec.24,1912.

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' P. B. GILBRETH. FLOOR CONSTRUCTION POR BUILDINGS.

APPLICATION FILED rms. 25, 1903.

Patented Dec. 24, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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., UNITED Vsluuns- PATENTOFFICE.

rnanx ze. GILBBETH, or nos'ron, MASSACHUSETTS.

rLoon consrnucrron ron 131n Ln1Ne\s.v A

Specimen ,of meer, ment. y Patented Dec. 24,1912. Application ledFebruary 25, 1903. Serial Ho. 144,986. y

To all whom 'it lmuy concern.' A

Be it known that I, FRANK B. GILBRETH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Boston, `in the county ofSuiolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented an Improvement in Flopr Construction for Buildings,

of which the following description, in con nection with the accompanyingdrawings, 1s a specification, like letters on the drawlngs representinglike parts.

a ,plurality of building blocks illustrating one embodiment ,of myinvention. Fig. 2 is a cross-section on the dotted line 2 2, Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the clot-ted line -igFig. 2. Fig. 4 isa vertical section on the dotted line 4 4, Fig. 2.l Fig.

A 5 is a perspective detail, to be referred to and Fig. 6 shows a novelscreed-holding dog.

yIn. the particular embodiment of my 1nvention selected forillustrationherein and shown in the drawing, referring first to Figs. 1 and 4, A, Arepresent portions of usual I-section beams such as` commonly used iniioor or roof construction. In lieu of I-section beams, anyv equivalentform of beams may be used, such as ordinary channel, L or T beams.Between adjacent beams A and supported thereby are arranged the buildingblocks B-B made and arranged in accordance with my invention. As here lshown, the blocks B are severally made from concrete'or equivalent,preferably molded material, and preferably of a general flangedyboX-girder shape in cross-section, asbest shown in Fig. 4; that is,comprising vertical webs or members b b connected by the top and bottomflanges or members b b. These blocks B, see Fig. 2, vhave their bottomflanges b no hed at their under sides and attheir ends as atba, toreceive the projecting bottom flanges of the supporting beams A uponwhich the said blocks rest. This notching at. b3 is preferably ofa'dovetailed nature and such that the bottom of the block B dependssomewhatbelow the bottween adjacent ends of the blocks at oppo. sitesides of any beam A alongitudinal re- V- cess under the beam, into whicha mortar or other filling may be placed to bring the sur face belowthebeain down flush with the tomof the supporting beams A leaving bebottoms of the blocks B preparatory to furf" nishing a luniformly smoothsurface, either for final finish or preparatory to plasterin Thedovetailed end walls of the notches 3 furnish adequate supportl for themortar filling referred to, which latter amay also constitute aiireproof protection for the supporting beam at its under side. Foreconomical construction and the saving of time the blocks B are moldedorcast inadvance, and preferably each with one or more metal reinforcingtension members t which may conveniently be strips of wire netting ofsuitable gage land mesh. As shown in Fig. 4, each tension member isgiven a eneral U-shape with vertically extended portlons tf, ahorizontally-arranged portion t* and the outwardly-flanged or foldedportions: t. Thisv cross-sectional shape of metal tension member affordsconveniently, suitable reinforcement for all necessary portions of theblocks. In making these blocks .before their use,"it isditlicult to makethem such that they would it accurately between `the sup: porting beamsAif laid straight across from one to another of said beams, that is,a`tright angles thereto. This difficulty would ,arise not only from a,perha unnecessarily,

slight variation in the lengths of the' molded the blocks B atfthe'irends and their respec. tive supporting beams wouldbe detrimentah to theconstruction as a whole and should be avoided, I make the blocks of theconstruction shown, such that vthey may be arranged diagonally from oneto another `of the supporting beams. spacing of the beams or inlengths,of the blocks B is easily compensated for and taken up oradjusted by a relatively slight variation in the angular positions ordiagonal directions of the several blocks, enabling the latter always tobe positionedV with their ends firmly seated against and lupon theirrespecn tive beams. y

In constructions rof the'gmoldedbloek type Thus, any inequalityv 1n Aasheretofore attempted,ithasV been the univ 'form custom, so far as I amaware, to swing the blocks horizontally into position, which is open tomore or less inconvenience and diiiculty. My invention, on the contrary,comprehends blocks which are chamfered oft' at their ends from theirtops downwardly and outwardly, or made battering as it is commonlycalled, as 'best shown at b4, whereby the blocks-may be positioned byfirst resting them at one of their ends upon the bottom ange of one ofthe supporting beams A and kthereafter dropping or swinging the oppositeends of the lblocks until they rest upon the bottom flanges of theadjacent 'supporting beams. By this means the several blocks present thesame supporting areas at their ends as if the latter were vertical, andhave therefore suiicient supporting strength. `At the same time they maybe inserted and` removed by vertically swinging movements which areimuchmore convenient than horizontal movements as f heretofore employed. Thisbattering ofthe ends of the several blocks not only permits of theinsertion of the blocks in thev manner described, where desired, butalso permits of the insertion .o f a body of filling material, such ascinder concrete o between the ends of the blocks and the adjacentportions of their respective supporting beams, thereby affording fireand rust protection for the said beams andvat the same time steadying orholding the beams and interposed blocks against play or movementl withthe obvious result that both thebeams and the blocks may vbe `madelighterV with corresponding strength. To economize in this interposedfilling c and at the same time to insure a tightiillng free fromobjectionable openings or apertures I may, before inserting the saidfilling, close the ends of the box-girderlike blocks by end pieces d,best shown in Fig. 2, which may rest at their lower edges upon thesupporting beam anges as shown, or upon the projecting bottom flanges b2of the blocks, should the latter project suli-V ciently toward thesupporting beam webs,J

the said end pieces at their upper edges being preferably notched asshown, to tit under the top flanges b of the blocks, thereby lto furnishsupport for the latter and also a means for retaining the said endpieces in position. By the use of these end pieces d, a compact fillingis insured between the ends of the blocks and the supporting beams, witha minimum of material used. Obviously, it

vis desirable to use as little filling material as possible, not onlybecause of the reduction in dead load and corresponding cost` but alsobecause it reduces the amount ofmaterial which must be mixed, handledand dried out on the job. i Referring now to Figs. blocks B for the bestresults should be such that their top faces when laid will be sub- 1, 2and 5, thev stantiallyflush with the top faces of the supporting beams,possibly slightly below the level of the supporting beams. To facilitatethe accurate and proper laying of the floors however it is desirablethat screeds, so-called, be used, which will project slightly above theto faces of the blocks and beams. These scree s are ordinarily longstrips of wood, generally of dovetail shape in crosssection, and toreceive such screeds my invention contemplates molding or otherwiseforming in the top faces of the blocks B transverse vdovetailed recessesb5, Fig. 2, wider however than the width of the screeds 'e to be placedtherein. The screeds are first placed in position as shown in Fig. 2,with one of their edges locked under the adjacent beveled or inclinedwall of the dovetailed recesses b and a concrete or other suitable`filling e is' then placed in the vsaid recesses ybetween the saidscreed and the opposite inclined wall of said recess, thereby securelyVto lock the screed in position.- The screed lreceiving recesses b5 aremade of considerfably greater width than the screeds themselves, tofacilitate entrance of the latter into the said recesses and to givefree access for leveling up `the screeds preparatory to 4laying of thefloor. Should it be required to runthe screeds transversely of thesupporting beams, A', the dovetailed recesses bmay be used` as wirereceiving conduits or recesses, or for .otherl purposes, as may beIfound convenient. Before running in the lfilling, the screedsl may besecured by dogs, engaged under one or another of the top flanges b ofthe blocks and driven laterally into the screeds o c between adjacentblocks. My invention contemplates a novel form of dog, as best shown inFig. 6, the same comprising a screed holding prong or point f bnt overfrom or forming a part of the shank f', the latter at its opposite endbeing provided with oppositely extended lockinglegs` f2. This dog isinserted by turning it so that the oppositely extended legs f2 may bedropped down between adjacent top asf flanges b of the blocks andthereafter given a quarter turn to carry the oppositely eX-- tended legsunder the said adjacent flanges,

)the dog then being driven sidewise to enter its prong into the side ofthe screed,'thus securing the latter to adjacent blocks instead of toone block only as heretofore. The blocks therefore are separatedslightly at their upper flanges to permit entrance of the dogs fdescribed, and they are also preferably separated at their bottomflanges to permit the plastering when applied to be pressed upwardlybetween the bottom flanges and to clench over and above the saire.Preferably also the edges of the bottom i-angcs have groove-like orother shaped pockets or recesses b", into which the plastering whenfilled in between adjacent ing or tipping movements, such for instance,

as might bc caused by resting a heavy weight upon the edge of o-neofthetop flanges, for instance at the point marked av,

` Fig. 4, which would tend to roll or transversely tip the block. Thisis most effectually guarded against in the construction shown by thepeculiar cross-sectional or boxgirder shape of the block, .together withthe full width support of the latter upon the flange of the supportingbeam. T o further guard against such rolling or transverse tippingmovement myinvention comprehends placing between adjacent blocks one ormore transfer plates k, Fig. 5, shaped to have suflicient bearing uponand between the flanges of adjacent blocks, whereby any weight upon thetop flange of one block is transmitted by and through said interposedplate to or upon the bottom flange of the next adjacent block as well asdirectly downward to and upon the bot-tom flange of the same block. Bythis means, weights are transferred from one block to another, wherebythe entire construction is strengthened and the necessary dead weightcorrespondingly reduced. By giving tothe several blocks full widthsupports upon their respective supporting beams, and when necessary,providing sepal rate transfer plates or devices for supporting one blockby or from the next adjacent block, I am enabled to position the saidblocks separated slightly one from another as'here shown, not only topermit of the clenching of the plastering applied to the under surfacesthereof, and the insertion of the screed holding dogs between t-he upperflanges thereof, but also to permit of thev introduction through theseparating spaces at the tops of the blocks of such filling material ormaterials as may be desired to form a practically solid construction,both at thel top and bottom flanges of the several blocks; and wheredesired, the entire intervening space between adjacent blocks may in thesame manner be filled. If desired also the boX-girder-like blocks B mayhave their top flanges or members b perforated as at b", to permit offilling material being run into the interiors of the blocks at any timeto further add strength thereto, either during original installation,-orconstruction, or subsequently, for repair work. l i

While the diagonal arrangement of the blocks is desirable for reasonsstated, yet at the ends of the bays formed by the end walls and thesupporting beams A the construction must be filled out square, and toaccomplish this my invention contemplates the eral boX-girder-likeconstruction as the others. Y

While I have for convenience' illustrated my lnvent-ion in connectionwith one specific embodiment thereof, particularly adapted for floorconstruction, my invention nevertheless is not limited to such use, noris itl limited in other respects to the particular embodiment shown, forit may be varied as desired, within the spirit and scope of theinvention.

Having described one embodiment of my invention, and without limitingmyself to details, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patentis,-'

. 1. liic combination with a series of flanged building blocksscreed-holding recesses, of a screed narrower than said recesses,dogsdriven into the screed and engaging the flanges of adjacent blocksfor holding 'the' screed in its proper place at one side of therecesses, and fillmg material deposited in the recesses at the oppositeside of the screed.

2. Ina building construction, the combihaving alined i nation withflanged building blocks and" screeds carried thereby, of screed-holdingdogs having each a prong driven into a screed and each having aplurality of oppositely extending locking legs for engagement with theflanges of said blocks.

3. Inbuilding construct-ion, the combination of suitable supportingbeams, interposed flanged blocks supported thereby and adapted to carryscreeds extending lengthwise of the supporting beams and transversely ofsaid blocks, and screed-holding dogs located at the joints between theadjacent blocks bridged by said s creeds and each having a prong driveninto a screed and laterally projecting legs engaging the flanges of theblocks.

4. In building construction, the combination of suitable supportingbeams, interposed hollow blocks supported directly thereon, and closuresfor both ends of said blocks, said closures fitted under the upper wallof said blocks and resting at their lower ends against said beams.

'5. In building construction, the combination of suitable supportingbeams having lateral flanges along the lower edges, interposed hollowblocks or lintels having downwardly sloping ends supported on saidflanges, a closure for the ends of said blocks lio fitted under theupper walls thereof and braced against said flanges between the ends ofthe lintels-and the webs of the beams.

6.' The combination with suitable supporting means, of blocks laterallyiianged at top and bottom and supported by their ends upon said beams,and transverse plates in-` terposed between said blocks to hold the.anges thereof sufficiently apart to permit the space between to befilled with cement and engaging the top and bot-tom flanges of theblocks, for the purpose sct forth.

7 In building construction, the combination of suitable supportingbeams, laterally flanged blocks arranged between them and supportedthereby, and plates vertically arfrom the top flange of one block to thebottom iange of an adjacentv block.

In testimony whereof, i have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

FRANK B. GILBRETH.

\ a Witnesses:

FREDERICK L. EMERY, SUSAN E. HAYNES.

